In-line skate

ABSTRACT

An in-line skate comprises a plurality of replaceable rollers, a skate frame, and a shoe body. The skate frame includes a pair of lateral blades and at least a connecting plate that fixedly fastens the lateral blades parallel to each other. The shoe body further is fixedly attached on the connecting plate. Each lateral blade includes a plurality of roller-mount through holes distributed into a plurality of hole-sets. Each hole-set corresponds to a specific mounting configuration of the rollers to the corresponded through holes, and the hole-sets are distinct from one another by not having at least one common through hole. The in-line skate is thereby suitable for diversified types of skating practice such as leisure skating, hockey skating, and figure skating.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwaneseapplication serial no. 91201485, filed on Feb. 7, 2002.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention relates generally to an in-line skate and, moreparticularly, an in-line skate structure suitable for different types ofskating practices.

[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0005] In-line skating recently has become popular, and now is anofficially recognized sport with official sportive associations. As itgains public's interest, in-line skating also has diversified in manyforms from a simple leisure practice to specific hockey skating orfigure skating. Each specific practice of in-line skating usuallyrequires different adequate equipment. For example, hockey skating ispracticed with a pair of specific in-line skates that differs from thoseof figure skating or leisure skating. Therefore, a user who wants tohave diversified practices of in-line skating usually has to purchasemore than one pair of in-line skates, which is not economic and furtherneeds a relatively large storage space.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0006] An aspect of the invention is therefore to provide an in-lineskate structure that allows multi-mounting configurations of the rollersso that the in-line skate is suitable for diversified practices ofin-line skating such as leisure skating, hockey skating and figureskating.

[0007] To accomplish the above and other objectives, an in-line skate ofthe invention comprises a plurality of replaceable rollers, a skateframe, and a shoe body. The skate frame includes a pair of lateralblades and at least a connecting plate that fixedly fastens the lateralblades parallel to each other. The shoe body further is fixedly attachedon the connecting plate. Each lateral blade includes a plurality ofthrough holes distributed into a plurality of hole-sets. Each hole-setcorresponds to a specific mounting configuration of the rollers to thecorresponded through holes, and the hole-sets are distinct from oneanother by not having at least one common through hole. The in-lineskate is thereby suitable for diversified types of skating such asleisure skating, hockey skating, and figure skating.

[0008] According to one embodiment, to obtain different mountingconfigurations of the rollers, the through holes are arrangeddifferently in height from one hole-set to another hole-set, and/or thehole inter-distance between the through holes is different from onehole-set to another hole-set.

[0009] It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescription and the following detailed description are exemplary, andare intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0010] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of theinvention and, together with the description, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention. In the drawings,

[0011]FIG. 1 is a schematic side view illustrating an in-line skateaccording to an embodiment of the invention;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating an in-line skatewhere the rollers are mounted to the first hole-set of the lateralblades according to an embodiment of the invention;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of FIG. 2;

[0014]FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section IV-IV ofFIG. 2;

[0015]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the section V-V ofFIG. 2;

[0016]FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 are cross-sectional views illustrating avariation of the lateral blades shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5;

[0017]FIG. 8 is a schematic side view illustrating an in-line skatewhere the rollers are mounted to the second hole-set of the lateralblades according to an embodiment of the invention; and

[0018]FIG. 9 is a schematic side view illustrating an in-line skatewhere the rollers are mounted to the third hole-set of the lateralblades according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] The following detailed description of the embodiments andexamples of the present invention with reference to the accompanyingdrawings is only illustrative and not limiting. Furthermore, whereverpossible in the description, the same reference symbols will refer tosimilar elements and parts unless otherwise illustrated in the drawings.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 1, a schematic view illustrates an embodimentof an in-line skate of the invention. The in-line skate comprises aplurality of replaceable rollers 100, a skate frame 102, and a shoe body104 fixedly fastened on the skate frame 102. The attachment of the shoebody 104 to the skate frame 102 may be achieved according toconventional manners, such as by rivets, for example.

[0021]FIG. 2 through FIG. 5 schematically illustrate the structure ofthe skate frame with greater details. As illustrated in FIG. 3, theskate frame 102 includes a pair of lateral blades 106 and connectingplates 108, 110. The lateral blades 106 are fixedly positioned parallelto each other via fixedly fastening with the connecting plates 108, 110.The shoe body 104 further is fixedly attached on the connecting plates108, 110. Although this embodiment illustrates the use of two connectingplates, it should be understood that a single or more connecting platemay be used to similarly attach the lateral blades 106. The lateralblades may be made of any adequate materials, such as, for example, analloy of aluminum that has the advantage of being lightweight.Furthermore, it is possible to design a profile of the lateral bladesthat slightly protrudes outwardly, as illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.When the user slides with the in-line skate, the curvature of the formedprotrusions 107, 109 thereby produces a dazzling effect by lightreflection.

[0022] Furthermore, the height of a rear portion 106 b of each lateralblade 106 may be set greater than that of a front portion 106 a, so thatthe user does not need to add shoe-pads in the shoe body 104.

[0023] As illustrated in FIG. 2, each lateral blade 106 includes aplurality of through holes for mounting the rollers 100 along thelateral blade 106. The through holes are distributed into a plurality ofhole-sets that are distinct from one another by not having at least onecommon through hole. Furthermore, the arrangement of the through holesin each hole-set corresponds to a specific mounting configuration of therollers 100, and differs from one another in respect of variousparameters. In the illustrated embodiments, this difference principallylies in the hole inter-distance between the through holes of eachhole-set, the height of the through holes, the number of through holes,etc. Through a design where the through holes are differently located,the user thereby can adjust as desired the characteristics andconfigurations of the in-line skate by, for example, further mountingrollers of different radii and/or a brake pad to the lateral blades 106.In FIG. 2, an embodiment of the invention includes five hole-sets. Afirst hole-set includes through holes 51, 53, 57, 61, and 63. A secondhole-set includes through holes 51, 55, 60, and 65. A third hole-setincludes through holes 51, 54, 58, 62, and 64, 65. A fourth hole-setincludes through holes 51, 56, 62, and 64, 65. A fifth hole-set includesthrough holes 52, 55, 59, and 63.

[0024] Reference is made to FIG. 1 to particularly describe theconfiguration of the first hole-set according to an embodiment of theinvention. The first hole-set includes the through holes 51, 53, 57, 61,and 63, and the- hole inter-distance between the through holes uniformlyis d1, between about 5.95 cm and 6.95 cm, preferably 6.45 cm. Fiverollers 100 are mounted to the lateral blades 106 via Allen screws 70respectively engaging through the through holes. Being provided withfive rollers 100, the in-line skate is particularly suitable for speedracing. The rollers 100 preferably have a same diameter, preferably 6.2cm.

[0025] Reference now is made to FIG. 8 to particularly describe theconfiguration of the second hole-set according to an embodiment of theinvention. The second hole-set includes the through holes 51, 55, 60,and 65, and the hole inter-distance between the through holes uniformlyis d2, between about 8.8 cm and 9.8 cm, preferably 9.3 cm. Four rollers112, 114, 116, and 118 are respectively mounted to the lateral blades106 via Allen screws 70 respectively engaging through the through holes51, 55, 60, and 65. Different roller diameters may be implemented forthe rollers 112,114, 116, and 118. For example, the rollers are arrangedaccording to their decreasing diameter from the rear end to the frontend of the shoe body 104. This configuration is particularly suitablefor hockey skating. In the illustrated example, the roller 112preferably has a diameter of about 8 cm, the roller 114 about 7.6 cm,the roller 116 about 7.2 cm, and the roller 118 about 6.8 cm.Alternatively, all the rollers may have a same diameter, for example,about 8 cm (particularly suitable for leisure practice).

[0026] Reference is made to FIG. 9 to particularly describe theconfiguration of the third hole-set according to an embodiment of theinvention. The hole inter-distance between the through holes 51, 54, 58,and 62 of the third hole set uniformly is d3, between about 6.7 cm and7.7 cm, preferably 7.2 cm. Four rollers 120, 122, 124, and 126 arerespectively mounted via the through holes 51, 54, 58, and 62 to thelateral blades 106, and a brake pad 128 is mounted to the through holes64, 65. Two through holes 64, 65 therefore are particularly used tosecure the mount of the brake pad 128. As illustrated, the through holes54, 58 are particularly aligned with an axis P2 that is slightly lowerabout 2 mm to 6 mm, preferably 3 mm, than an axis P1 of the otherthrough holes. The third hole-set therefore differs from the other onesin that the rollers are mounted at different heights of thecorresponding through holes, while the other hole-sets have the throughholes approximately aligned at a same height. The mount of rollers withdifferent diameters further forms a curved contact line 130 of therollers, which is particularly suitable for performing acrobatic figuressuch as rotations or jumps in figure skating. According to anembodiment, the roller 120 has a diameter of about 7 cm, the roller 122about 7 cm, the roller 124 about 7 cm, and the roller 126 about 7.2 cm.

[0027] Referring to FIG. 2, the hole inter-distance between the throughholes 51, 56, and 62 of the fourth hole-set uniformly is d4, betweenabout 10.3 cm and 11.3 cm, preferably 10.8 cm. The through holes 64 and65 are used to attach a brake pad (not shown). Rollers of a similardiameter, for example 7.2 cm, are further mounted through the throughholes 51, 56, and 62 (not shown). This configuration is particularlysuitable for occasional leisure skating provided with a brakingfunction.

[0028] The hole inter-distance between the through holes 52, 55, 59, and63 of the fifth hole-set uniformly is d5, between about 7.7 cm and 8.7cm, preferably 8.2 cm. Rollers of a similar diameter, for example 8 cm,are mounted through the through holes 52, 55, 59, and 63 (not shown).This configuration is suitable for leisure skating.

[0029] Alternatively, rollers respectively with diameters of 8 cm, 7.6cm, 7.2 cm, and 6.8 cm are respectively mounted to the through holes 52,55, 59, and 63 to particularly adapt the in-line skate to hockeyskating.

[0030] The following Table 1 summarizes the above characteristics of thein-line skate according to the different characteristics of the in-lineskate of the invention. TABLE 1 Through hole Roller-mount inter-distanceThrough hole hole-set No. (cm) No. Roller diameter (cm) Characteristic 16.45 51 6.2 Speed racing 53 57 61 63 2 9.3 51 8 Hockey skating 55 7.6 607.2 65 6.8 51 8.0 Leisure skating 55 60 65 3 7.2 51 7.0 Figure skating54 7.0 58 7.0 62 7.2 64 Brake pad 65 4 10.8 51 7.2 Leisure skating + 56brake pad 62 64 Brake pad 65 5 8.2 52 8.0 Leisure skating 55 59 63 528.0 Hockey skating 55 7.6 59 7.2 63 6.8

[0031] As described above, the invention therefore provides an in-lineskate that includes, but is not limited to, about 15 through holesdistributed according to about 4 to 6 hole-sets of through holesrespectively corresponding to different roller-mounting configurations.Although the above number of through holes is not particularlyrestrictive, the invention however provides about 10 to 20, preferably15 through holes, to maintain a proper mechanical resistance of theskate frame. Furthermore, the number of through holes per hole-set isnot limited to the above-described examples, and may be as desired inaccordance with the diameter and number of rollers to be mounted.

[0032] By comprising several hole-sets of through holes for mounting therollers, the single in-line skate of the invention thereforeadvantageously allows multi-mounting configurations of the rollers inaccordance with different types of skating practice. The same in-lineskate therefore can be used to practice different types of skatingactivities.

[0033] According to the embodiments of the invention, the hole-setsdiffer from one another by the hole inter-distance between theirrespective through holes and the position of the through holes atdifferent heights.

[0034] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that otherstructures that are obtained from various modifications and variationsof different parts of the above-described structures of the inventionwould be possible without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention as illustrated herein. Therefore, the above description ofembodiments and examples only illustrates specific ways of making andperforming the invention that, consequently, should cover variations andmodifications thereof, provided they fall within the inventive conceptsas defined in the following claims.

1. An in-line skate, comprising: a plurality of replaceable rollers; askate frame, including a pair of lateral blades and at least aconnecting plate that fixedly fastens the lateral blades parallel toeach other, wherein each lateral blade includes a plurality of throughholes distributed into a plurality of distinct hole-sets for mountingthe rollers according to different mounting configurations; and a shoebody, fixedly attached on the skate frame.
 2. The in-line skate of claim1, wherein the amount of the through holes on each lateral blade isabout 10 to
 20. 3. The in-line skate of claim 1, wherein each hole-setcomprises about 4 to 6 through holes.
 4. The in-line skate of claim 1,wherein the lateral blades respectively terminate in a relatively higherrear portion and a relatively lower front portion.
 5. An in-line skatecomprising: a plurality of replaceable rollers; a skate frame, includinga pair of lateral blades and at least a connecting plate that fixedlyfastens the lateral blades parallel to each other, wherein each lateralblade includes a plurality of through holes distributed into a pluralityof distinct hole-sets for mounting the rollers according to differentmounting configurations, the through holes being arranged differently inheight from one hole-set to another hole-set; and a shoe body, fixedlyattached on the skate frame.
 6. The in-line skate of claim 5, whereinthe amount of the through holes on each lateral blade is about 10 to 20.7. The in-line skate of claim 5, wherein each hole-set comprises about 4to 6 through holes.
 8. The in-line skate of claim 5, wherein the lateralblades respectively terminate in a relatively higher rear portion and arelatively lower front portion.
 9. An in-line skate comprising: aplurality of replaceable rollers; a skate frame, including a pair oflateral blades and at least a connecting plate that fixedly fastens thelateral blades parallel to each other, wherein each lateral bladeincludes a plurality of through holes distributed into a plurality ofdistinct hole-sets for mounting the rollers according to differentmounting configurations, and the hole inter-distance between the throughholes in each hole-set being different from one hole-set to anotherhole-set; and a shoe body, fixedly attached on the skate frame.
 10. Thein-line skate of claim 9, wherein the amount of the through holes oneach lateral blade is about 10 to
 20. 11. The in-line skate of claim 9,wherein each hole-set comprises about 4 to 6 through holes.
 12. Thein-line skate of claim 9, wherein the lateral blades respectivelyterminate in a relatively higher rear portion and a relatively lowerfront portion.